Riyadh blocked a WTO dispute with Doha on intellectual property

Saudi Arabia has blocked the establishment, at the request of Qatar, the panel of arbitrators of the WTO in a dispute on «piracy of intellectual property», have informed on Tuesday to journalists by the trade representative in Geneva.

According to him, the panel was requested by Qatar in connection with «supported by the government (Saudi Arabia) piracy of intellectual property.» According to the representative Doha, Riyadh pirate allows companies to steal their satellite signal.

As noted by the sales representative, Saudi Arabia has blocked the request of Qatar, explaining that «it is a matter of national security.» In addition, Riyadh has no diplomatic relations with Doha, so it may not hold any consultations with Qatar.

Saudi Arabia’s decision to block the panel of arbitrators in the dispute settlement Body of the WTO upheld the U.S., Egypt and Bahrain. At the same time Qatar was supported by the European Union and Turkey.

Qatar also said that this topic does not address the question of national security of Saudi Arabia and touches on the themes of intellectual property, the Qatari media.

«Because Saudi Arabia has blocked the creation of panel of arbitrators, the dispute settlement Body of the WTO stated that it will monitor the situation,» — said the trade representative in Geneva.